The Needs Of The Many
by The Wrath of the Ancients
Summary: McKay sacrifices himself to stop the Asuran replicators, at the cost of his own life. Or maybe not as he cannot be sure. Continued in another story.


**Stargate Atlantis**

**The Needs of the Many**

McKay stood at the Asuran core console pondering the wisdom of his plan, essentially Rodney already thought about the replicators retaking control faster than should be possible so his secret plan B had become plan A while his plan A with FRAN became little more than a distraction. He waited until the replicators from orbit had been pulled into the mass, then as he looked at Ronan and the three marines he took a gulp and activated his radio.

"Sam, beam out everyone except from me, I need to finish this," McKay said as the marines briefly shared glances.

"Rodney, isn't that what we're doing now?" the now confused Colonel Carter asked the civilian over the radio.

"No, that's a distraction for me to complete these modifications to the Asuran security systems to allow my plan to work, which involves me being captured by the replicators and mind-probed." Rodney said almost calmly to the woman who had reeled him into the Stargate program in the first place. _He could blame her for this moment because she got him into this dammed program in the first place. No! _No matter how much he tried he couldn't blame Sam for anything, the only feelings for her at the moment were gratitude for getting this far and seeing so much in just his lifetime.

"How does you getting captured end the Asuran threat once and for all?" Colonel Sheppard said over the communication.

"I don't have the time for this!" After McKay yelled the words he activated his program on the Daedalus' transporter systems. His entourage on the planet were swept away by Asgard transporters and deposited onto the Daedalus.

"My plan B, now plan A, just uses FRAN as a distraction, so I can modify the security systems to allow my plan to work." McKay said, being infuriatingly vague.

"What is your plan Rodney?"

"I wrote a virus that would spread throughout the collective, to every nanite," McKay paused for dramatic affect. "And to their ships and the planets systems shortly, weakening the curon pathways inside the replicators and hijacking the main power systems and causing all the ZPMs to overload,"

"So why do you need to be there?" Caldwell asked what was on everybody's mind.

"Because it's a secret plan, I couldn't put it on my tablet so…"

Oh my god…" Sam trailed off realising what Rodney had done to himself in the name of the 'greater good'.

"So I used a neural interface, AKA: head sucker, to download it into my brain." McKay dryly said. "So when they try to probe my mind…"

"It gets spread to the replicators." Sam finished for him.

McKay looked at the core's data readout; they were coming, and led by Oberoth. He moved his hand back to the radio, he just had to say it before the end.

"Sam, in my office in Atlantis in the bottom draw, there's a file with some things I wrote down." McKay said sucking in a lungful of air. "And I just want to say Sam, thank you."

"For what?" Sam asked back to the scientist.

"For not throwing me through the Stargate the first or second times we met, and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have come this far so I just want to say; thank you…" Static overtook the radio signal, Sam solemnly turned to Caldwell and ordered them to retreat, _now they could only hope…_

"Thank you..." McKay just said on the radio as Oberoth burst in followed by a contingent of Asurans.

"Doctor McKay, how stupid of you," Oderoth said menacingly as he moved to the front of McKay who stood in front of the Replicator leader.

"I'm not afraid," McKay uttered as Oberoth's hand entered Rodney's forehead.

The leader of the most menacing machines in the galaxy began to tremble, and then he fell back from Rodney breaking the mental contact. Rodney surged backwards, his brain thoroughly scrambled, he turned and fled the core room but not before taking the Asuran energy weapon and then he began to run down the corridors as the Asuran core exploded he ran through the corridor until he crashed into someone he definitely didn't expect to again in all of the universe.

"Elizabeth…" McKay slurred before falling backwards and nearly cracking his head on the walls, but was stopped by a hand.

"My god Rodney, what have you done to yourself?" Elizabeth asked as she guided Rodney to the Stargate chamber.

When they arrived McKay went straight to the DHD and started to dial an eight chevron address.

"But you don't have a GDO," Elizabeth pointed out. "You can't get to Earth."

But that wasn't where McKay was going, "Kheb" he uttered as the wormhole opened to the distant star system. _It seemed fitting _McKay thought _none of us would be here if Daniel hadn't impressed Oma Dessala at the temple all those years ago._

He lurched towards the Stargate _he had to make it. _But just two feet from the event horizon McKay collapsed and Elizabeth pushed Rodney through the gate as he said to the former diplomat, "I can save you."

But Dr Weir merely turned around to face the city's control centre as the Stargate shut down and the planet exploded…

McKay fell through the Stargate to see the lush environment of Kheb. Later on, with no recollection of how he got there Rodney collapsed on the floor of the temple of Kheb as he grew cold and shut his eyes preparing for death. In a mirror image to an old 'Dr Who' serial he looked up to the sky and asked, "is this, death?" just as he collapsed on the ground a single word came to him; _No…_


End file.
